The Rude Pundit read with interest the cleverly titled political publication, Politico, and its cleverly titled article, "Obama, the Puppet Master" by that guy who looks like a funeral director and that bald guy with the crazy eyes. From what he gathered from the frothy whine of self-pity that the article is, reporters is sooo vewy mad because mean ol' Barack Obama won't talk to them like they believe they should be talked to and as often as they would like.

Look at that title again, calling the President a "puppet master." Now, the puppets being referred to are not the easily manipulated public, but the media itself: "President Barack Obama is a master at limiting, shaping and manipulating media coverage of himself and his White House." And the article lists various ways that the media is manipulated, like the weekend document dump or not giving interviews to "tough" journalists at the New York Times or Washington Post. Also, the White House "punishes" media outlets and reporters who say bad things about it, so they avoid doing so.

The missing component in the entire thing was an awareness that reporters don't have to be puppets. And news outlets can call bullshit all the time. Serious question: is it more important to be in the front row at a press conference or to dig in and investigate something like the number of civilians killed in drone strikes? Because right now, the answer is "Oooh, ooh, call on me, Mr. President."

See, it's not merely that the press gets caught up in the stupid, Fox "news"-driven trivia like Skeetgate. It's not that, as Chuck Todd points out, that every president back to at least Nixon manipulated the press to his advantage. It's that the mainstream media has pretty much abdicated its role as a check on power, something that was quite clear during the Bush administration.

In other words, shut the fuck up and do some reporting. Stop waiting for scraps to dribble from the lips of leaders and go out and do your goddamn jobs. And stop pretending as if stories like Clinton getting oral in the Oval Office or birther bullshit are important at all.

Like maybe reporting about the lack of transparency and the punishing of leakers in this White House as an issue for all of America, not just for a few DC reporters whose asses feel a bit chapped.